6io 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



posed portion of tlic tooth, is covered with enamel, 

 not couoitiiin. 



The gums of the dog- are hard and solid to 

 the touch, and firmly embrace each tooth, and 

 more or less surround each separate tusk. 



The soft palate, or curtain that guards the en- 

 trance to the Rullet, is in the dog broad and short, 

 and has little or no uvula; the opening from the 

 mouth into the pharynx and larynx is therefore 

 capacious, and freely admits either food or air, 

 this latter being so extremely necessary to the 

 animal after a hard run, when he wants to do a 

 deal of breathing in a short time. 



The tongue of the dog differs considerably from 

 that of other animals. It is very long and soft, 

 and extremely mobile. It is covered with long 

 silky papillaj, which give it its peculiar smooth- 

 ness, so different from the rough tongue of the cat, 

 with its horny recurvent papillffi. The lips of the 

 dog are thin and pliant. Externally the upper 

 lip is grooved in the median line, and at the 

 lower edge at the back parts is beautifully van- 

 dyked with long papilla: all along its free surface. 

 It is most important for the purposes of sport 

 and defence, as well as for health and appear- 

 ance, that a dog's teeth should be properly seen 

 to. Loose and carious teeth are of very frequent 

 occurrence, often existing as one of the symptoms 

 of either dyspepsia or intestinal worms, more 

 especially in pampered pets, who are allowed to 

 eat what and when they choose. 



As a rule, puppies shed their milk-teeth without 

 any trouble, but the milk-teeth, after getting loose, 

 sometimes get fixed again. This is a matter that 

 wants looking to, for the presence of milk-teeth 

 often deflects and renders irregular the growing 

 permanent teeth. Whenever, then, you find a 

 milk-tooth loose, try to extract it; this can gener- 

 ally be done by the finger and thumb covered with 

 the corner of a handkerchief. If, however, the 

 tooth has been allowed to remain so long in the 

 jaw^ as to become refixed, its extraction becomes 

 rather more difficult, and requires instrumental 

 assistance. 



After extracting the tooth touch the gums with 

 a solution of tincture of myrrh and water, equal 

 parts. As your dog grows up, if you want him to 

 retain his dental apparatus to a goodly old age, 

 vou must trust to regular and wholesome feeding, 

 and never permit him to carry stones, nor to in- 

 dulge in the filthy habit of chewing wood. For 

 show dogs powdered charcoal should be used to 

 clean the teeth, with a moderately hard brush, 

 but tartar should never be allowed to remain on 

 the teeth of any dog one values. It ought to be 

 scraped off, or it will give rise to disease. 

 Mouth, Canker of. 



Syinptonis. — These are seldom noticed until the 

 disease is pretty far advanced, and a swelling is 

 formed on the dog's jaw beneath or over the 

 carious tooth. This swelling discharges either 

 pus and blood or thin effusion. The discharge is 

 offensive. There is pain, as evinced by the un- 

 willingness of the dog to have his mouth examined 



or the jaw- touched. If neglected there may come 

 a nasty fungus-looking growth. 



Treatment. — Our attention must first be directed 

 to the teeth, and any carious tooth or portion 

 of a carious tooth must be extracted. This opera- 

 tion will probably have to be performed after 

 the dog has been placed under the influence of an 

 anaesthetic, and therefore he must be taken to a 

 skilled vet., unless, indeed, he can be securely 

 held and his mouth kept open by aid of an as- 

 sistant and any means at your command. The 

 disease must then be treated on general princi- 

 ples. If there is proud flesh, blue-stone must be 

 used, or the solid nitrate of silver. If only ulcera- 

 tion and fcctid discharge, use a wash of Condy's 

 fluid (i drachm to 3 in a pint of water), and the 

 alum and myrrh wash (10 grains of alum and i 

 drachm of tincture of myrrh to i ounce of water) 

 ought to be used several times a day, by means 

 of a rag or bit of sponge tied to the end of a 

 stick. 



Attention must be paid to the general health, 

 and especially to the state of the stomach. Give 

 an occasional dose of oil and buckthorn. 



Mouth, Foul, is a condition of the canine 

 mouth very often seen. The highest-bred dogs 

 are the most subject to it, and among these it is 

 more frequently seen among household pets. The 

 symptoms vary in degree, but in a well-marked 

 case you will find your patient is generally some- 

 what surly and snappish, and on inquiry we shall 

 not be surprised to learn that he gets but little 

 exercise — perhaps because he has become too fat 

 to take it — that he gets what he likes to eat, 

 everybody gives him tit-bits, and perhaps that he 

 sleeps before a fire, or in a bed, or on the couch, 

 and is restless at night, and often troubled with 

 bad dreams. Examination of the mouth reveals, 

 first, a very obnoxious breath, the gums are 

 swollen, may be ulcerated at the edges, but at 

 all events bleed with the slightest touch. Some 

 of the teeth may be loose or decayed, but in- 

 variably even the sound ones are encrusted with 

 tartar. 



Treatment. — Begin by thoroughly cleansing and 

 scaling the teeth ; this done, use a wash — water 

 well reddened with permanganate of potash. The 

 teeth are to be cleansed every morning with vine- 

 gar and water. The only medicine needful w'ill 

 be an aloetic aperient once or twice a week, w-ith 

 a dinner pill. 



Quinine, .'a to 3 grains; powdered rhubarb and 

 ginger, of each 2 to 5 grains; extract of taraxa- 

 cum, sufficient to make a bolus. 



The feeding must be altered for the better. If 

 the dog is fat and gross, meat, and especially 

 sugar and fat, must be prohibited. Put him on 

 oatmeal porridge and milk, or .Spratts' cake. If 

 lean and poor, an allowance of meat must be 

 given, or the thirty per cent. Spratts' cake, and 

 also Virol twice a day. Let the drink be pure 

 water or butter-milk. 



Nephritis, or Inflammation of the Kidney. — 

 Sometmies called acute Bright's disease. It is 



